Over the Edge
by mispatch
Summary: "Alie may control their bodies, but their tears came from the heart."
Alie's face contorted with anger. The bearer of the news, Ontari, kneeled in front of Alie and put her head down. There was no way out of it this time, Clarke had somehow successfully ingested the flame and was on her way to shutting down the City of Light. Alie's defences were destroyed, and Clarke was so close to reaching Alie's power center…

Alie sat on the Commander's throne and closed her eyes. She would _not_ lose control. She could _never_ lose control.

A handful of chipped Arkers and Grounders remained motionless as they kneeled on the ground, spread around the room but all facing their leader. They had complete faith that Alie would save the City of Light.

Alie opened her eyes and her face returned to it's stoic outward appearance. There was one way that she could stop Clarke…

"I do not see any potential uses for Abby Griffin. Dispose of her," Alie said as she stood.

Abby's eyes fluttered open as she sat kneeled at the corner of the room. Her leader had spoken to her, granting her permission to open her eyes. While it looked like Abby had woken up from a deep sleep, her mind was racing madly. Abby's muscles remained in it's locked position, but names and images kept flashing through her mind.

Jake. The image of a handsome blond-haired and blue-eyed man smiling while slipping a ring on her finger. The image quickly disappeared and she imagined his terrified cry as he was pulled violently out of the airlock.

Clarke. The memory of a little girl curled up by Abby's side. The girl slowly drifted off to sleep as Abby closed the storybook and softly kissed the child on her head. The memory was snatched from her mind as it was quickly replaced with the same girl, now a young woman, crying. She screamed, "Dad's dead because of you!"

Marcus. His scruffy beard tickled Abby's cheek as their lips crashed together. His hair, her hands, their warm bodies pressed together. She could feel it, he was really there, she could feel…she could feel…cold. The man now stood in front of her and yellow straps wrapped around Abby's wrists. The low thrum of electricity and a jolt of pain…

Abby opened her mouth and gasped for air but the rest of her limbs remained frozen. Jaha heard Alie's command and looked over at two former Arkadia guards. He nodded his head at them, granting them permission.

As the two guards moved robotically to Abby, Alie stopped them.

"No," she said calmly. Alie stood tall, clasping her hands gently in front of her.  
"Marcus?" Alie said. It was not a suggestion.

Marcus stood quietly at the side of the room, opposite Abby. His eyes opened, and he nodded to Alie. His heart started to beat out of his chest and breaths became shallower.

Marcus' body lurched forward, but he quickly stopped himself. Alie tiled her head with a mixture of confusion and frustration on her face.

"Marcus," Alie said gently. "We do not have _time_ for this. Fulfill your duty."

Marcus' legs unwillingly stepped forward towards Abby.

"Yes," he whispered. His muscles propelled him step by step to Abby, quickly reaching the spot where she kneeled on the ground.

The room was silent as Marcus clasped a hand around Abby's arm, pulling her to a standing position. His hand twitched, tightening and loosening its grip on Abby.

 _Stop this! You can't. Let go of her! Hold her tighter._

Marcus' hand tightened its grip on Abby as he started to pull her to the windowless edge behind the Commander's chair.

Satisfied at his compliance, Alie turned her attention from Marcus to Jaha and whispered instructions rapidly to him.

As they stepped in synchronicity, the wind blew strands of Abby's long hair across Marcus' chest, and the crimson sun stained their skin red. The task implanted into Marcus' mind was quick and simple. Push Abby off of the 30 foot tower onto the streets of Polis.

Marcus and Abby reached the ledge. Marcus roughly pulled Abby around so her back faced the ledge. When they looked into each others eyes, it was obvious that the task would not be as 'simple' as Alie had predicted. Tears streamed down both of their faces, and it was obvious to anybody paying the slightest bit of attention that they were both attempting to resist their actions.

He tried, but Marcus couldn't suppress the compulsion to place his hands on Abby's shoulders. Abby took one step backwards, ready to fall onto the blood-ridden street. One more step and she would soon greet the decayed city below.

Marcus and Abby locked eyes on each other, never daring to break apart. They couldn't speak, but their eyes spoke a thousand words. Alie may control their bodies, but their tears came from the heart. They knew that they both equally and passionately loved each other, and under different circumstances they could have been happy together. Their bodies allowed them to cry for all that _could_ have been.

Abby breathed in erratically, never taking her eyes off of Marcus. If this was to be her last moment on Earth, then she would fight like hell.

"Marcus," Abby choked. Her words sounded as if something had twisted her throat. She used every last ounce of strength in her body to speak her last words. These words were her own, and Abby would be damned if anybody else spoke them for her.

"I'm sorry."

A fresh stream of tears ran down Marcus' face, his body leaned in to push Abby over the edge.

"Stop her!" Alie screamed out.

An electric shock pierced their bodies. Hot searing pain began at the back of the neck and quickly crawled through each nerve of the body. Every chipped Arker and Grounder screamed at the pain, filling Polis with the sound of a thousand lives in terrible agony.

Clarke had made it to Alie's power center and destroyed it, deactivating every single of Alie's chips.

Marcus and Abby yelled out in pain, both trembling from the electrical shock. The ingrained chips started to melt as Alie's image faded. Marcus' chip deactivated faster than Abby's, as there hadn't been as much time to deeply ingrain itself into his skin.

Abby as convulsed from the pain, she closed her eyes and stepped backwards into the nothingness. For a split second, her heart leaped as the sensation of falling overtook her. Marcus reacted swiftly, grabbing Abby by the waist and shoulder. He pulled her to his body, and stepped backwards away from the edge.

The pain had mostly subsided for Marcus, although a creeping sensation drifted thoughout his body as if threatening to ignite the electricity again. Abby's chip was more firmly ingrained in her though, and her nerves continued to burn under her skin.

"Abby! Abby!" he yelled. Marcus put a hand over the back of her neck, feeling the hot skin. Abby continued to tremble from the pain, and Marcus wrapped his arms tightly around her, holding her close.

The pain started to diminish and the Arkers and Grounders slowly stood. They all looked around cautiously and fearfully at each other in attempts to understand their surroundings.

Abby breathed heavily in Marcus' arms and slowly opened her eyes. They were both finally free from Alie. Abby wearily experimented with the restored control of her body. She lifted one hand that was clutched at Marcus' chest and cautiously moved her fingers around

She looked up at the man holding her and met his tear-stained eyes. Marcus moved his hand and interlaced his fingers with hers. They were together again— truly together.

Tears ran down Abby's cheeks again and she softly rested her head against Marcus' chest. The horrible things that Alie made Abby do made her sick to her stomach. And Marcus couldn't believe how horrifically close he came to killing Abby under Alie's control.

Through the following months after Alie's downfall, Abby and Marcus supported the other during the recovery process— slowly but surely. For now, though, they held each other close, never wanting to let go.


End file.
